Kotzin



March 31, 1964 T. KoTzlN wAIsTBAND CONSTRUCTION PRocEss 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. l2, 1960 INVENTUR.

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l I I I Il! I l i l I I I l i il lil/dv T. KOTZIN WAISTBAND CONSTRUCTION PROCESS March 31, 1964 Filed sept. 12, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENToR. /,Qs Harz/N BY 4 7/7//mu aww( gnu United States Patent O 3,126,551 WAIS'IBAND CONSTRUCTIGN PROCESS n Tobias Kotzin, 1300 Santee St., Los Angeles, Cahf. Filed Sept. 12, 1960, Ser. No. 55,523 1 Claim. (Cl. 2236) This invention relates to cuff and band constructions for various types of garments and products. This 1nvention relates particularly to waistband constructions for trousers.

There are specific problems in connection with trouser waistbands. They tend to wrinkle, and especially to curl downwardly at their upper edges if there is any snugness of fit. There is an obvious need of reinforcement for this reason. Furthermore, there is a need of reinforcement in order effectively to transmit the circumferential stresses through the detachable fastener elements at the ends of the waistband, all without tearing, ripping or otherwise mutilating the waistband structure.

Present method of making waistbands are awkward, require excessive stitching and result in poor quality.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an improved cuff, or waistband construction that overcomes the foregoing problems.

Another object of this invention is to provide a reinforced waistband construction that, although easily and inexpensively made by mass production methods, provides a finished appearance heretofore unequaled. Use is made of panels to form the band that are integrally formed by a longitudinal fold, and that uniquely cooperate with reinforcing members in addition to providing an inner facing at the waistband. Reinforcing strips that are precisely rectangular, and that remain straight in cross-section are secured to the front and back panels by longitudinal lines of stitching along only one edge of the strips. The reinforcing strips are turned inwardly to form neat lower edges of the waistband between which the top edge of the trouser section can be inserted. Furthermore, when turned inwardly, the unattached edges of both strips meet to form a well defined fulcrum about which the central fold of the waistband is formed. Two reinforcing strips precisely straight in cross-section, resist any and all buckling movement, which would not result if the strips were themselves folded.

Another object of this invention is to provide one or more layers or plys of reinforcing material in the forml of homogeneous plastic, such as polyester film or Mylar whereby an edge, corners and ends of exceptional denil tion and stability may be formed for the parts of a garment.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved tailored waistband providing well defined corners and edges and promoting the simple attachment of the waistband to the remaining portions of the garment.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a novel waistband construction that can expeditiously be made by mass production methods.

This invention possesses many other advantages, and has other objects which may be made more clearly apparent from a consideration of several embodiments of the invention. For this purpose, there are shown a few forms in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the present specification. These forms will now be described in detail, illustrating the general principles of the 3,126,551 Patented Mar. 31, 1964 invention; but it is to be understood that this detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claim.

Referring to the drawings:

FIGURE l is a front elevation showing the upper portion of trousers incorporating the present invention;

FIG. 2 i-s an exploded View of the right and left front panels of a pair of trousers up'on which companion waistband sections are placed and secured;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged diagrammatic fragmentary sectional view taken along the plane indicated by line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged diagrammatic sectional view taken along the plane indicated by line 4 4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged diagrammatic fragmentary sectional view taken along the plane indicated by line 5 5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an elevational view of the waistband parts prior to attachment to the respective front panels of the trousers;

FIGS. 7, 8, 9, 10 and l1 are views illustrating successive steps in the production of the waistband sections;

FIGS. 12, 13, 14, and 16 are sectional views taken along the planes 12-12, 13-13, 14h14, 15h15 and 16-16 of FIGS. 7 to 11 respectively;

FIGS. 17 and 1S are each enlarged sectional views corresponding to FIG. 4, illustrating modified forms of present invention;

FIG. 19 is a pictorial view illustrating an alternate method whereby the left front side of the trousers are formed;

FIG. 20 is a transverse sectional View taken along a plane corresponding to line 20-20 of FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a transverse sectional View similar to FIG. 20, but illustrating the band folded and stitched; and

FIGS. 22, 23 and 24 are views similar to FIGS. 19, 2O and 21 respectively illustrating the companion right front side of the trousers being formed.

In FIG. 1 a pair of trousers 10 are illustrated having a pair of waistband sections 11 and 12 extending along the right and left front sections 13 and 14 of the trousers 10.- In the present instance, the waistband sections 11 and 12 terminate at the side seams 16 of the trousers. The circumferential extent of the waistband sections 11 and 12 is not critical to the present invention. The' left waistband section 12 has an integral tab 15 projecting beyond the fly edge 17 of the corresponding trouser section 14 to extend in overlapping relationship with the end of the waistband section 11. The tab 15 mounts, in this in-l stance, a pair of hooks 20 and 21 respectively cooperable with eyes 22 and 23 of the waistband section 11,- by the aid of which the front sections 13 and 14 are detachably secured together.

As shown in FIG. 5, the outer finish layer of thev waistband construction is integrally comprised of aninner and an outer panelA 25 and 26 extending on opposite sides of a central fold 27. The inner andV outer panels 25 and 26 are turned inwardly at their free ends 25a and 26a to' form finished lower edges 28 and 29. Within the folds formed at the edges 28 and 29 are placed the lower edges of reinforcing strips 30 and 31 respectively.

These strips may be made of buckram` or other semistiff or stiff material, such as polyester film; or combinations of such materials. In the present instance, buckram is illustrated. The upper edges of the reinforcing strips 30 and 31 are together located within the corner formed at the upper fold 27.

The reinforcing strip 31 is secured at the lower edge 29 of the outer panel 26 by a line of stitching 32, and the reinforcing strip 30 is attached at the lower edge of the inner panel 25 by a line of stitching 33.

Within the opening between the lower edges 23 and 29 of the waistband panels, the upper edge of the front trouser section 14 is received. A single line of stitching 34 spaced upwardly from the fold lines 28 and 29 secures the waistband. A finished appearance is expeditiously provided. Both waistband sections 11 and 12 are similarly formed.

The fold line 27, in practice, is quite sharp, the panels being folded about the actual edges of the reinforcing strips 30 and 31 which actually contact each other. The showing in FIG. 5 is diagrammatic in this connection in order clearly to show the relationship of the several parts.

Each of the hooks 20 and 21 conveniently comprises two parts that together grip the inner panel 25 and its reinforcing strip 30. One of the parts' is a backing plate 37 (FIG. 3) located on the inside of the waistband that receives stapling projections 35 and 36 (FIG. 4) of the outer hook part 21 whereby the device is firmly secured. The stapling projections 35 and 36 engage the reinforcing strip 30 whereby circumferential stresses can be transmitted without mutilating the inner panel 25. At the same time, the tailored appearance of the outer panel 26 is not marred, since the hooks 20 and 21 are not secured to the outer panel, or even its reinforcing strip 31. The reinforcing strip 31 further serves to isolate the outer panel 26 from the hook 21 whereby the hook is prevented from impressing its form into the panel 26.

The eyes 22 and 23 at the other waistband section 11 are attached only to its outer panel and corresponding reinforcing strips. The inner panel 25 and its reinforcing strip 30 form a cushion between the eyes 22 and 23 and the wearer.

One manner in which the waistband structure is formed is clearly shown in FIGS. 7 through 16. Lengths of material for waistband sections 12, for example, are stitched between parallel runs of buckram webbing that ultimately form the reinforcing strips 30 and 31. The stitching may expeditiously be done by a double needle sewing machine, providing the lines of stitching 32 and 33 which, as illustrated in FIG. 7, need not be interrupted during the initial stages of fabrication of the trousers.

The webbings 30 and 31 are so placed that the distance between their inner edges 30a and 31a is precisely half the distance between their outer edges 30h and 31b. The reason for this criterion will presently appear.

At the next stage (FIGS. 8 and 13) one of the buckram strips 30, is folded downwardly to form the folded edge 28. With the reinforcing strip 30 firmly cornered, the hooks 2t) and 21, as shown in FIG. 8, are stapled to the reinforcing strip 30 and the inner panel 25.

Separate waistband sections 12 are then formed by cutting the webbing between the panels along lines A, B, etc. (FIG. 5). Next, a corner is formed, as shown in FIGS. 9, 10, 14 and 15. Thus, the companion reinforcing strip 31 is folded upwardly, and due to the spacing criterion above described, the once remote edges 30b and 31b, of the reinforcing strips meet. The waistband 12 is then reversely folded, as shown in FIG. 15, so that the reinforcing strips 30 and 31 are outermost. At this time, a line of stitching 38 (FIG. 10) is provided to form the corner of the tab 15. This line of stitching extends through the reinforcing strips. The trimmed corner is then turned, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 16, the fold 27 is neatly formed, and the waistband section is ready for attachment to the front trouser section 14. The opposite waistband section 11 is similarly formed.

The upper edges of the reinforcing strips 30 and 31 very closely approach or engage each other, the clearance being exaggerated in FIGS. 4, 5, 14 and 16. When the waistband is turned, the reinforcing strips 30 and 31 maintain the waistband taut in the vertical or transverse direction, and in addition, provide reinforcement in the horizontal or longitudinal direction.

In order to increase the definition of the edge 27, plastic reinforcing members may be used to provide an edge uninterrupted by threads or to provide added reinforcement, or both. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 17, the plastic strip 31 is shown added to strip 31. In the form illustrated in FIG. 18 both reinforcing members are replaced by plastic strips 30' and 31. The plastic material may be of a type capable of withstanding repeated laundering, such for example as Mylar. If desired, the reinforcing plastic may be enclosed in the waistband with or without being stitched in place. Such an insert may also be used only at the ends of the waistband.

In FIGS. 19 to 23 a mass production process for making the right and left front sides of the trousers is illustrated. Waistband section is attached to continuous webbing strips as in the previous form. Instead of separating the waistband sections and then attaching them to the trouser sections, the trouser sections are attached before the waistband sections are separated. Accordingly, the webbing provides continuity to a continuous process and forms a means whereby the parts can be handled in an expeditious manner.

In practice, waistbands 12 unseparated from the webbing, and as shown in FIG. 19, are fed past a station at which a sewing machine is provided. At least one of the webbing strips 41 is folded prior to arrival at this station, and corresponding to the webbing for that panel of the waistband facing inwardly of the wearer. The trouser sections 14 are then attached along the folded edge 42 (FIG. 20) so formed, and along what will be the inside of the waistband, namely on the same side as the band or webbing 41. A line of stitching 43 is provided for this purpose.

The waistband is then folded centrally, but so that the reinforcing bands 44 and 45 are on the outside. A machine having cutting provisions then provides a line of stitching corresponding to the line 38 in FIG. 10. The separation of the webbing into distinct reinforcing bands for separate waistbands is then achieved. The corner is then turned. The outer panel 46 then overlies the upper edge of the trouser section 14 and conceals the line of stitching 43. A final line of stitching 47, the only one visible in a direction facing outwardly of the wearer, integrates the structure.

The waistband section 11 may be similarly formed as illustrated in FIG. 22. The upper edge of the trouser section 13 is attached along the lower edge of the waistband section that forms the panel facing inwardly of the wearer. A corner is similarly formed and the outer panel 49 is then fastened by a continuous line 50 as illustrated in FIG. 24.

The inventor claims:

The process of forming trouser sections with faced waistbands from trouser parts, two continuous strips of webbing and pieces of material, which comprises: feeding the webbing to a double needle sewing machine so that corresponding inner edges of the webbing strip pass beneath the needles and with the said inner edges spaced from each other a distance corresponding to the combined width of the webbing strips while feeding material to the machine with its side edges respectively passing beneath the needles; inwardly folding one webbing strip at a subsequent stage to form a first edge at the inwardly facing panel of the waistband; stitching the upper edges of trouser parts at a subsequent stage along the said edge and on that side of the panel that the webbing strip extends and inwardly folding the other webbing strip to form a second edge at the outwardly facing panel of the waistband; reversely folding the waistband at its center, to position the webbing outwardly at a subsequently stage; transversely stitching and cutting the waistband between consecutive attached trouser parts at a subsequent stage to separate them; individually turning the waistband panels to form a corner at the said transverse line of stitching and so that the said first ,'and second edges embrace the upper edge of the trouser part; and finally stitching the panels together and to the trouser part by a line of stitching along the said irst and second edges.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Pine Oct. 4, 1887 Kershner Dec. 25, 1923 Grasso Jan. 23, 1934 Gold Mar. 17, 1953 Purpis et al. Dec. 21, 1954 Wagar Mar. 19, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS Belgium Apr. 30, 1958 Great Britain Feb. 29, 1932 Great Britain Apr. 13, 1933 

